ON May 3, 1315, eight years into the reign of Edward II, Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, obtained the King’s permission to fortify his manor house at Bampton in Oxfordshire. In this lies the origin of Bampton Castle, the exquisitely built and picturesque remains of which survive incorporated into a former farmhouse, called since the 17th century Ham Court (Fig 1). Although little known and neither finished nor ever used in anger, inform and purpose this is one of the more unusual and puzzling of England’s castles.
Aymer was born in about 1275. His paternal grandparents were the French nobleman Hugh, comte de la Marche, and Isabella of Angoulême, widow of King John of England and mother of Henry III (r. 1216–72). This made Aymer’s father, William de Valence, Henry’s half-brother, a familial link that yielded rich rewards. It also gained de Valence vast estates in France, in Poitou (centred on Poitiers), which passed to Aymer at his father’s death in 1296; he inherited his English, Welsh and Irish lands and the earldom from his mother in 1307. Further French lands, in the Pas de Calais, were acquired on his second marriage, in 1321, to Marie de St Pol (d. 1377), the founder, in 1347, of Pembroke College, Cambridge, who commissioned her husband’s sumptuous monument and effigy in Westminster Abbey (Fig 5).
Denne historien er fra May 05, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra May 05, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
